Carolina Hurricanes Begin New Season With Two Tough Losses
Every week, Cardiac Cane will make a complete wrap-up of the Carolina Hurricane’s week for the 2015-2016 season.
Preseason 10/5-10/11
Summary:
The summer was another long one. While the play-offs rolled into the draft and then training camp, Hurricanes fans were eagerly waiting a return to some hockey. With interest reignited by a great offseason, Caniacs rejoiced when the puck dropped on October 10th. But, before the ‘Canes kicked off their home season, they had a regular season game against the Nashville Predators and made a club announcement. That announcement was that Justin Faulk was named the second alternate captain. This move was met with much praise.
With their cornerstone defenseman now a member of the leadership core, Carolina jetted off to Nashville for the first game of the regular season. From the first face-off, the ‘Canes were under pressure from Nashville. The Preds pocketed two goals, one on the powerplay, in the 1st period. The defense looked timid and the forwards couldn’t break out of the zone very much. To cap of the period, James Wisniewski tore his ACL just 47 seconds into his Hurricanes career. Carolina’s first period of the 2015-2016 season looked shaky to say the least.
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Thankfully, the ‘Canes worked their way back. The 2nd period saw more back and forth play. By mid-way through the 3rd, the ‘Canes realized they were down by two goals and turned up the pressure. The offense produced more shots and started to trouble Pekka Rinne. Finally, with 1:40 left, Eric Staal threw one into traffic and it managed to beat Rinne. With around :20 seconds the puck dribbled to a wide open Jeff Skinner who had a yawning cage. Somehow, it hopped his stick. The ‘Canes started the new season with a loss.
The offensive pressure the Carolina Hurricanes showed at the end of the Nashville game carried over to the home opener against the Detroit Red Wings. Powered by a sold out PNC Arena crowd, the ‘Canes put up 18 1st period shots compared to a Detroit 2. Yet, the score stayed 0-0. You got the sense the Red Wings would score despite the dominance displayed by the Hurricanes. Henrik Zetterberg also had that thought and scored a beautiful individual goal mid-way through the 2nd period.
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Down 1-0, the Carolina Hurricanes maintained their jump and answered back with a Victor Rask goal. Noah Hanifin intercepted a clearance and rifled a shot off the glass, which sent the puck right into Rask’s strike zone, who then swatted it in. A few minutes later, Ryan Murphy wheeled into the zone and threw one at the net. Nathan Gerbe tapped in the shot/pass.
In the 3rd, Detroit began to get more time in the offensive zone. Two defensive breakdowns and a Zetterberg highlight real assist made the game 4-2 Red Wings with 3 minutes left. Justin Faulk scored a conciliation powerplay goal. The game ended 4-3 Detroit, even though the ‘Canes outshot the Wings 47-19.
The home opener was a depressing result. The atmosphere was arguably the best in the past year and the Carolina Hurricanes dominated for much of the game. The shot totals really inflated how well Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek statline. He never had any incredible saves, since most of the shots he faced were right at his glove or right at his chest. Saturday’s game was a true representation of quality over quantity.
Cane of the Week:
Victor Rask – 2GP, 1G, +1
Just a year ago, Rask was just breaking into the Hurricanes, mostly due to Jordan Staal’s injury. In the home opener last season, he started on the third line. This past Saturday, he centered the first line. The young Swede has asserted himself as a centerpiece of the team. His performances in the first two games are proof of this. The stat line reads one goal in two games, though he could have been credited with two (they gave it to Eric Staal).
On the surface, his stats aren’t remarkable. The reason Rask was the best player this week was his style and quality of play. Watching in the game against the Red Wings, you could noticeably see that Rask is bigger and stronger. Also, for a guy who was pegged as a weaker skater in junior hockey, he was flying up and down the ice. The goal he scored was because he was parked in front of the net. The same can be said about Staal’s in Nashville. On Saturday, he skated nearly 25 minutes. Rask is quickly becoming a great and versatile forward.
Honorable Mentions: Justin Faulk, Kris Versteeg, Noah Hanifin
The Forecast:
Tuesday 7:00 pm @ PNC Arena against the Florida Panthers
Friday 7:30 pm @ Joe Lewis Arena against the Detroit Red Wings
Saturday 7:00 pm @ Verizon Center against the Washington Capitals
After dropping the first two games of the season, the Hurricanes will surely want to get their first win of the year this coming week. Their best chance will probably be at home against the Florida Panthers. Carolina has a chance to get some revenge on the Red Wings on Friday, though don’t expect 47 shots on goal in the reverse fixture. Finally, on Saturday, the ‘Canes take on the Capitals, who look poised to make a deep play-off run.